Riptide
by Fair Weather
Summary: Warning : Swimming is prohibited in this area. - Leon/Cloud -Being re-vamped.-
1. Rag Doll

Hey, everyone! Welcome to the first chapter of the revised _Riptide_. I've changed quite a bit of things this time and developed more on the story than I had before, but I hope you all still find this fic enjoyable. I've decided that I'm going to switch between POVs ( Cloud and Leon ) every chapter this time around. Not much happens here in the first chapter, I'm afraid, but it sets up Leon's back story and how our boys meet.

Let me know what you think! (:

* * *

The words still sounded distant even as Squall replayed the scene from his memory over in his mind. An argument that had lasted nearly an hour felt like it was over in a few minutes.

_"You heard me, Princess. I said get out. I've got someone new moving into the apartment and I want your ass out when that happens."_

Foolishly, he'd believed that the two of them could work something out. The truth of it was, Squall had always been afraid that Seifer would leave him, had always known that it was inevitable- but now that he was faced with the reality of it actually happening, he was at a loss.

They'd been together for the last two years of high school, and then two additional years afterward as they ventured into the adult world together. That was probably when things started to go downhill, though their relationship had never exactly been picture perfect.

Together, they decided to move away from their hometown and into the city. Together, they picked out an apartment. Together, they shared a room and a bed. Together, they learned what a pain in the ass it was to scrabble for rent every month. Things were okay. He got lucky and scored a job as an on and off model and went to college, intent on earning his teaching credentials in high school-grade mathematics. Seifer took on a full-time job as a security guard. Together, they had sex...and that was it.

They were too different. Yet, out of some sick sense of obligation or stubborn determination, they remained together. Hell, maybe that was just wishful thinking on his part.

Squall wasn't entirely sure how to describe their relationship, and now, looking back, he was amazed at just how long they managed to put up with each other. Fuck buddies was probably more of an apt way to describe them at that point.

And now...Seifer had dumped him for his agent, Rinoa. Maybe she seduced Seifer to spite him, after he'd refused so many of her advances. He didn't really know, and at this point he didn't really care.

Most importantly, she'd ruined whatever future he might have had in the modeling business by spreading some choice rumors about how difficult he was to work with and how he'd fallen in with an unfavorable crowd and had an even less appealing history. The sad part was that she could throw her weight around in this line of business, and any potential agencies wouldn't have signed for him if the great Rinoa Heartily had said he was no good.

"...so that's it. That's all," Squall murmured to himself, leaning his head back against the headrest of the driver's seat in his car. Somehow he thought his four years with Seifer would mean something more, but the thought only made him feel more empty. Maybe their relationship had merely been born out of convenience. Seifer seemed to take that to heart well enough, he thought bitterly. He'd been tossed aside with ease, like he'd never meant anything to Seifer in the first place.

Squall stared up through the windshield at the apartment that he'd recently been evicted from, irritated that he was starting to think himself in circles.

True, he hadn't exactly finished his schooling here, but...there wasn't anything else anchoring him to Twilight Town anymore, and he certainly didn't want to linger around like some kicked puppy and see Seifer and Rinoa together, nevermind the fact that he had nowhere to go.

That left only a few choices. Squall automatically floated over to his cell phone, which lay innocently on the passenger seat. His pride told him to just find some cheap hotel to stay at, but rationally he knew he couldn't afford to do something like that while looking for a new job and a stable home at the same time.

After debating with himself a little longer, Squall finally reached out and picked up his phone to leave a message for one of his few, but long-time friends.

"Hey, Irvine. It's Squall...or well, Leon I guess. Don't ask about the sudden name change. I'll explain later. What I really wanted to ask was if you're still looking for a roommate. I can drive down to Destiny Islands within a day or two. Let me know."

Leon pulled the phone away from his ear and stared silently at it until the backlight dimmed. He knew Irvine would probably figure out what had happened as soon as he heard the message. Glancing up at the apartment one final time, he put his hand on the key and started up his car.

All his life...anyone who'd meant anything to him had always abandoned him. His parents, Ellone, various foster parents...and now Seifer proved to be no exception. He'd learned to live with it, but now it was just getting to be too much. He refused to allow himself to be set aside so easily again. Squall was the old rag doll that no one wanted...Leon was not, he decided firmly in his mind.

* * *

Not surprisingly, Irvine had welcomed him in with open arms. What he hadn't been expecting was just how well off Irvine actually was. It looked like the whole deal about needing a roommate was a front, because the other brunet was faring just fine financially. Better than fine, it seemed, because the apartment that Irvine had rented out was only a few minutes away from the beach.

Irvine ran a veterinary clinic not too far from town and always had a steady flow of clientele. For Leon, who had no job and nowhere else to go, it just felt like he was taking advantage of his friend's good will, however, at said friend's insistence, Leon agreed to go back to school and finish his last two years back at Twilight Town. It was the least he could do since Irvine had so kindly given him free stay with him.

For once, life was simple. Leon quickly finished his schooling and was able to find a position at a nearby high school that was even within walking distance. The brunet was fairly determined to pull his own weight around, despite Irvine's assurances and advice to slow down and "enjoy life a little."

As a result, Leon worked tirelessly at his job for the following two years, allowing little time for anything else. Finally, it seemed like Irvine had had enough. The vet had found the number for the school he worked at and told them that he was sick with a fever and wouldn't be able to show up for about a week.

Irvine gave Leon a pointed look as he crisply hung up with the secretary, not at all fazed by the shock drawn across the other brunet's face.

"There. It's done. Now you finally have some time to relax. Go outside and live a little or something, Squall. You've got to move on eventually, you know."

Leon only continued to stare blankly at the phone, and Irvine couldn't help but be a little irked by his friend's petulance.

"Alright, alright. Listen up. Do you know where you are living right now?" Irvine asked sharply.

That got Leon's attention. He looked up to meet Irvine's gaze warily.

"Yeah, _Destiny Islands_, babe. Sunny, white sandy beaches, wicked waves, and some very nice bars. None of which that you've touched since you got here."

Not what he had been expecting, but Leon couldn't help but feel a little relieved. "Irvine, you know I don't dr—"

"I know that! But you could still go surfing or something, you know, like we used to."

To that Leon had no response. Things had been so pleasantly…routine up until now, and of course Irvine had to go and shake things up again. "Will you let me go back to work if I do?" the brunet finally relented.

Irvine grinned, turning and taking some of his things off the counter as though he were preparing to leave. "Of course! I have a spare board in the back that you can use. So just head down to the beach when you feel like it. I'll catch up with you later—someone brought in a baby chocobo the other day that was having some stomach problems. Poor thing. See ya, Squall!"

Leon stared in silence again once Irvine hurried out the door and shut it. Why did he get the feeling that he'd just been played..?

* * *

A few minutes later, Leon had gathered the few things he'd need for the trip to the beach. The spare board that Irvine had been talking about was absolutely breathtaking. It was a striking mix of bold red and black with a elaborate, white tribal lion design that was beautiful enough to make Leon envious.

It had to have been a custom design. Leon felt a little bad using it even if Irvine had given him permission to borrow it. Nevertheless, he took it under his arm, grabbed a towel and a spare set of clothes, and set out to the beach.

When he got there, Leon was struck with a sudden wave of nostalgia. He'd lived this close to the beach all this time, but this was really the first time he'd seen it. Back when he was still in high school, a bunch of his friends would sometimes head out to the beach…and there, watching them, he discovered that he had a passion for surfing. Eventually other things in life had made themselves more of a priority, and those days he'd spent on the waves seemed like a distant dream.

Irvine hadn't been kidding about the waves here. Just from where he was standing, Leon couldn't help but feel a flood of anticipation every time he saw the high crest of a wave.

Leon took his first step into the sand, glancing around as he made his way towards the water. It's not as though he expected to find anyone familiar here, but it still made him feel weird coming here on his own…Damn Irvine.

The beach wasn't too crowded though, and for that he was glad. There were a few lifeguard towers set up from what he could see, and he vaguely noted that one of them—a rather distracted, spiky-haired blonde, from the looks of it—was yelling at some of the beach goers. The lifeguard didn't remain on his mind for long, though, because Leon stopped paying attention to anyone else as soon as the waves began lapping at his feet.

He had a bit of a clumsy start at first, but pretty soon he reclaimed his sense of balance and with it, his confidence. Leon had never been an exceptional surfer, but he wasn't half bad, either. Leon looked back over at the shore, and then the high rise buildings rising up behind the suburbs. Somehow…even out here in the ocean, thoughts of Seifer wormed their way back into his head.

Seifer had always told him that surfing was a stupid way to pass the time. That it was pointless and that anybody could do it, and only an idiot would actually want to.

"_You know what I think the best thing that could happen to a surfer is? That they crack their miserable heads on some shit for being so damn stupid."_

The unbidden memory upset him more than he thought it would, and Leon growled quietly to himself and abruptly turned his board towards the stronger waves off to the side of the beach. What he hadn't known, unfortunately, was that the reason that the waves were so strong was because of the rocks lying just underneath the surface.

Leon could distantly hear the sound of the lifeguard calling out, but he ignored it, paddling harder before climbing up onto his board. He was able to handle the first few waves, riding on through them on adrenaline, but eventually a larger one had caught him off guard and knocked him off his board. Leon remembered feeling a surge of panic as soon as the water crashed over his head, vaguely remembered clawing for the surface, remembered a dull thud underneath the water—had he hit something..? The sound seemed to echo and stretch on forever in his head…and he remembered coming to briefly. Someone was yelling for the ambulance and there was an uncomfortable weight on his chest. There was a blonde knelt over him, talking to him and making wild gestures, but Leon couldn't understand a word that was being said to him. That was weird. He didn't know any blondes. Maybe it was Seifer, come to laugh at him. "…Seifer.."

Everything was blank after that.


	2. Tide Pools

Yaaaaay, chapter 2! Updates are probably gonna start coming less frequently after this. Reviews are totally not the bane of my existence. (;

* * *

"C'mon, Cloud! It's just one eensy teensy favor. You know I've been wanting to do this for a while, and now's the perfect time," Zack whined over the phone, making the blonde on the receiving end sigh.

"Fine, fine! If it'll get you to shut up. But you're going to owe me for this one," Cloud said, shaking his head. "Just for today, right?"

"Just for today!" Zack echoed happily.

"Alright. See you around, Zack," Cloud laughed before hanging up. He was almost envious of how carefree Zack was. There was no way he could have refused the man, but at the same time, it made him ache knowing that Zack was off spending time with Aerith.

Cloud breathed out a sigh and smiled bitterly to himself. He really was pathetic. Zack was happy with Aerith, and he wasn't going to be the one to get in the way of that…but he still did even the most trivial things, if only to see Zack's face light up like a little kid. Cloud spent a few minutes grabbing the things he needed before leaving their shared apartment to go down to the beach.

They'd been living together for…roughly a year now, if memory served him right. Zack was working a full time job as a lifeguard now, but Cloud had gone on to college to study marine biology. He'd always been fascinated by the variety of sea life here at Destiny Islands ever since he'd moved here from Nibelheim, but there was more to it than that that he wasn't admitting to himself, he knew.

Zack was a large part of the reason why he'd been so willing to move out here. They'd been childhood friends, though they'd drifted apart once Zack went off to high school due to the age gap between them. Nevertheless, Cloud had been innately grateful for the one year he had with Zack at school together. By that time Zack had already met and was dating Aerith, but…Cloud had always remained hopeful. It was just a stupid, childish crush, really, but Cloud couldn't find it in himself to let go.

Now he was _living_ with Zack, and that was hardly helping things any. Zack was well aware of Cloud's sexual orientation, but…he still didn't know about the blonde's feelings for him, and for that Cloud was unsure if he was grateful or not for that.

What was he hoping for? That Zack would suddenly decide that Aerith and him weren't meant to be and turn to Cloud? Cloud wish he knew why he was clinging on so desperately.

Zack wasn't so blind as to notice when something was bothering Cloud, though. His friend had often asked Cloud why he chose to remain single. So…even though it pained him, Cloud had gone out and pretended to date other people, just so his friend would think that everything was perfectly fine when Cloud was actually pining over him. All of the relationships were one-sided and never lasted very long, with the exception of one business man named Sephiroth who had enough obstinate determination to rival Zack's mentor Angeal to stick around. Zack teased him sometimes, calling Sephiroth 'the one,' though Cloud never showed his friend just how sharply those comments hurt him.

The blonde shut his eyes briefly with a sigh as he drove Zack's truck down to the beach and took up his post on the life guard tower.

This early in the morning there weren't many people around, but in an hour or so, when the sun was high up in the sky, swimmers would start coming in. Cloud opened his pack and pulled out a small bottle. Zack had laughed at him once when he'd forgotten to apply sun block and wore a pair of sunglasses when he first started doing lifeguard work. The tan and the burn hadn't gone away for a few weeks and Cloud was almost certain that Zack had taken a picture and stowed it somewhere for future blackmailing purposes. Of course, Cloud rarely forgot to put on sun block now.

Once he'd covered all potential burn areas with sun block, Cloud relaxed into his chair and gazed out over the ocean, waiting.

* * *

As expected, people didn't start filing in until a little while later. Fortunately for him, it was a week day so he didn't have to deal with any hot-headed teenagers trying to kill themselves. On the other hand, he had to deal with negligent parents who let their toddlers run around the beach unattended. That was probably what worried him the most during this time of the day.

It was too quiet ( with exception to the screaming boys and girls splashing water at each other ) without Zack around, but he was stuck here making sure no one tried to drown themselves or break any laws or both while Zack was off having fun with his girlfriend.

Cloud abruptly sat up a little more properly as he squinted at an incoming figure who was walking towards the water. "…What the hell…" he muttered to himself in disbelief, lifting his megaphone up.

"Ma'am, you _must _have proper swimwear before entering the water!"

It took him far too long than it should have to get rid of that woman, and he was all too flustered for it by the time she left. Why did all the weird things have to happen when Zack wasn't around? He'd have had some way to handle it without offending any parties. Cloud rubbed his stinging cheek with a sigh. This was _not _an episode of Baywatch…

Things mellowed out again within that hour, and ( thankfully ) nothing worth note happened besides him yelling at the occasional idiot. What did catch his attention, however, was a brunet who walked by his post with quite possibly the most expensive-looking surfboard he'd ever seen—but it was beautiful. Cloud was going to admit that the owner of said board didn't look all that bad either, and he had an impressive scar cutting across the bridge of his nose that made him all that more intense. The brunet was an unfamiliar face though, so Cloud could only assume that he wasn't around the area or he'd just moved in.

Hm…Cloud allowed his thoughts to wander, entertaining the idea that perhaps the mysterious surfer was from some distant country, come to check out the surfing scene of Destiny Islands. He'd been so thoroughly distracted that he hadn't realized where the surfer had ended up until it was too late.

"Hey! Heeey! Turn around! It's not safe there! …Damn it!" Cloud cursed when he saw the brunet disappear under a wave and didn't reappear.

Several heads had turned at the sudden commotion, but Cloud ignored them, grabbing his own board and rushing towards the water while repeating multiple curses over in his head.

* * *

The brunet was already unconscious by the time Cloud had dragged him out of the water and knelt down next to him, trying to force air into his lungs. Nothing this serious had happened before, and Cloud was trying to keep his cool under all the pairs of watching eyes as he worked to resuscitate the man. Just when cold fear had begun seeping into him, the dense silence was broken by pained gasping and Cloud withdrew, falling back onto his ass and shaking his head absently in sheer relief.

When he looked up again, Cloud could tell that the surfer was still disoriented, especially since his eyes weren't well focused and his pupils still looked dilated.

"Hey, are you okay? How're you feeling? …hello?" Cloud gave up when the man had lost consciousness again, and he brought up his radio from his belt to call in for an ambulance, satisfied knowing that the man was still alive. Cloud only stopped when the brunet had started mumbling something.

"…Seifer.."

Just a name…Cloud could only guess what the name Seifer had to do with this man and returned his attention to the dispatcher while keeping an eye on the man.

It didn't take long before the ambulance arrived and the EMTs hoisted him up onto the stretcher. They took a few details from Cloud, assessing the situation before leaving with their newly acquired passenger.

Cloud shooed all the onlookers away and resumed life as usual, while feeling just a bit proud of himself.

As a lifeguard, it was his duty to make sure no one got hurt, and even if he was only a part time worker, Cloud still took that sentiment to heart. Once the beach had been 'closed' for the night, Cloud had requested permission for a boat to scope out the area and see just how far the field of rocks extended. It was much larger than the report had said back when he first started working, but then, if he remembered correctly, those documents were hardly updated until the need arose.

It came to a surprise for him when he saw that the brunet's board had survived, stuck against the rocks. By some miracle it wasn't too bashed up save for a few scratches, so Cloud decided to retrieve it and bring it back with him in case the man ever came back for it.

Later that night after he'd gotten off of duty, Cloud could practically see Zack oozing with pleasure when he came home from his date. Cloud smiled in greeting when his friend flashed him a thumbs up, but the smile felt out of place, like someone had forcibly pulled up the corners of his mouth.

He didn't say anything about what had happened earlier that day, not wanting to ruin the good mood with concerns. Zack told him about how great things had been and how happy Aerith had been when he took her down to the new board walk that had opened up not far from the town while they ate. Cloud only nodded in response and offered the occasional comment. By the time Zack was done, Cloud no longer felt like eating and he poked around at his plate until Zack had finished up his own meal and got ready to turn in for bed, leaving Cloud alone to mull over his own thoughts.

* * *

"Really, so that's what happened?" Zack asked, sounding impressed as he reclined on his chair the following day after Cloud had finished regaling him about the events that had happened in his absence.

"Yeah. I got a boat and went back out there to check things out. I really think we need to block off that area somehow so more people don't get hurt," Cloud said. "I don't know how that guy is doing now, but I actually managed to salvage his board since it was stuck on the rocks."

"You're probably right. It's never been a problem up until now since the surfers usually hang out further down the beach, but if they start coming up here it'll become a problem. I'll go out later and check it out myself, so don't worry about it. Although… if that guy's board is custom-made like you said, he'll probably come back for it," Zack mused. He tilted his head, suddenly realizing something.

"Hey, if that board was so great, why didn't I get to see it yesterday? The way you were talking about it, you made it sound like the godliest board of all boards."

Cloud suddenly tensed. He hadn't meant to hide anything from Zack, even if his friend didn't seem at all upset about it. It was just that… "Well…you were just so happy yesterday I didn't want to trouble you with other things." Or rather, Cloud had been too busy sulking in his own misery to show Zack.

"Aw, c'mon, Spike, you know I'm always willing to lend an ear. Or well, an eye, in this case. Anyw- Oh, come on! Do we need a sign or something? Don't fish in the freaking tide pools!"

Cloud smiled and shook his head exasperatedly as Zack hopped down from the tower and went to berate the would-be fishermen.


	3. Highwind Brand Boxers

oh god oh god school is starting in a week oh god 5AM-6PM every day I'm going to die D:

* * *

His head hurt. Not unbearably so, but opening his eyes even for short periods of time sharpened the pain. Leon vaguely remembered the nurse coming in a few times to check up on him, though her presence was always accompanied by clicking noises of her texting furiously on her cellphone. How no one reprimanded her for such unprofessional behavior, Leon had no idea. He  
squinted slightly to try and read her name tag when she came in again towards the afternoon. Larxene. Even her /name/ sounded mean.

"Okay buddy, some guy named Irvine says he's here to pick you up. Since you only got a mild concussion I don't think we need to be babysitting you here anymore. Take it easy, don't do anything stupid when you get out and don't come back either," Larxene told him flatly, pocketing her phone.

Were all nurses so brutal..? Leon watched in confusion when Larxene held up a remote and pointed it in his direction. Seconds later, Leon hid a flinch when  
the upper half of his cot bolted up and forced him into a sitting position. The change of elevation made him a little dizzy, but Leon said nothing; he was keenly aware that he was at fault for the accident in the first place. Leon knew Seifer was still affecting him...and on top of that he'd gone and lost Irvine's board. He inwardly grimaced at that realization. Leon could only  
imagine how much importance it held, given its quality and design.

"Did anyone bring in a surf board with them when I was brought here? It had a lion on i-"

"No, nothing," Larxene cut him off irately. "Only thing we got off you was a pair of swim trunks. Not that you're getting those back either. Anyway, once we clear the paperwork and you pay your hospital fees, your friend  
can go ahead and drag you home."

Leon was half surprised that the blonde nurse hadn't uttered a single curse word during the entirety of their 'conversation'. He kept expecting to hear them, but they never came.

"I see...thanks." Leon was silent for a moment, and Larxene, having apparently deemed her obligations towards the brunet null, started to leave.

"Wait! What about the guy who rescued me?"

"Don't know, don't care. Doesn't have a thing to do with me. If you don't need anything else now, I'm gonna be leaving."

Leon just shook his head, mostly too taken aback by the nurse's blunt statements to think of anything. Honestly Larxene seemed much more likely to injure patient rather than help him or her. His lingering head ache attested to that.

* * *

In the end Leon found himself unable to find the name of his rescuer. Irvine had only worried over his health and told him not to worry about the board, but  
Leon still felt guilty. The only chance he had at getting his friend's board back lay with the man who rescued him. All he could remember was that the person who saved him had been blonde. A large part of him was disgusted that Seifer was the first person who came to mind when he thought of blondes. He would have thought that Seifer would have been long pressed from his mind by now, but it looked like the memories of his ex-boyfriend were determined to plague him when he least wanted them to.

As it were, Irvine refused to let him out of the house until he was certain that his dear friend was 'all better.' It had only been a mild concussion, but it took a day or two of convincing for Irvine to let him out of the apartment. He didn't have to worry about his job for a while, so Leon was determined to put his efforts into recovering Irvine's board.

Once he was free to go where he pleased, Leon had only one place in mind. He wore a simple white t-shirt and a pair of jeans for the occasion. It wasn't like he was going out for some special event. The only thing that truly worried him was that the lifeguard who had saved him that day would not be around.

Again, it wasn't a long walk down to the beach, though it seemed much longer because he was on a constant lookout for the person who had rescued him before.  
A part of him was immensely glad when he saw a head of blonde hair atop one of the towers, but he wasn't so sure if it had been quite so spiky in his memory.  
Either way, the lifeguard spotted him before Leon had a chance to approach and started to elbow someone beside him, who, despite how impossible,  
seemed to have equally spiky hair.

Leon hid a frown when both men came towards him.

"Hey! So /you're/ the guy."

In response, Leon nodded slowly. So apparently he was 'the guy.' Okay. He could deal with that. Since they were face to face now, he was fairly certain that the shorter of the two lifeguards was the one who rescued him. On the other hand, he wasn't quite sure of what to make of his rescuer's rambunctious...companion. Between the two it was easy to tell that the blonde was the quiet one. Much, much quieter.

"Awesome. Cloud told me a little bit about you. I'm Zack, and this here is Cloud, as you just found out." The dark-haired one paused for a moment, scrutinizing Leon intensely for a few seconds. "Say...you're kind of  
familiar."

"I don't believe we've met before this."

"Oh, wait! I remember now! You're the guy whose crotch was on half the billboards in town a while back!"

This man looked far too smug for remembering something like that, and he was still studying Leon intently. Both Leon and Cloud stared incredulously at Zack.

"...excuse me?" Leon ventured, not sure if he liked the direction that the conversation was taking. Granted, neither male was bad-looking, but this was a little strange, even for him. Zack and Cloud seemed pretty close, and he couldn't think of a reason why Zack would have just brought up the subject that he did. If this was supposed to be some kind of invite for a threesome...

"You're the guy who was doing those Highwind boxer ads, right?"

"..."

"..."

When Leon finally nodded, the awkward silence seemed to thicken and Cloud spoke up before Zack could come up with something else to say. "I'm really, really sorry about that." The blonde shot his companion a withering look. "What my socially impaired friend /meant/ to say was it's nice to meet you. And you must be...?"

"It's a pleasure. I'm Leon." Hell, he was mostly just glad that they hadn't continued down the road they were going. It had taken too little effort to get his mind down into the gutter where it was and Leon wasn't exactly  
pleased with the thoughts now sitting on his mind. "And...I came here, first of all, to thank you for saving me the other day. If there's anything I can do in return, please let me know. I'm also here for another reason..." he trailed off briefly, looking uncomfortable. Fortunately, Cloud had been quick to pick up on where Leon was going with his train of thought.

"If you're thinking about your board, I have it safe and sound. The only problem is that I don't have it here with me or else I'd be more than happy to return it to you now whenever you're free to pick it up. I'll definitely have it ready for you. It's actually in pretty good condition considering where I found it, so I don't think you'll have to do much work fixing it up again. I mean, it's definitely a great board. Really well made and everything too, not just the design." When Cloud had finished speaking, his friend Zack was giving him a curious look. Leon just figured the reaction was some silent communication thing between the two so he ignored it.

"You don't have to lug it around. I don't mind coming to get it. It belongs to a close friend of mine, so that's why I wanted to get it back and return it as soon as possible," Leon explained.

"Ah, well have no fear! I can sacrifice myself and finish up the last shift for tonight so Cloud can give the nice man his board back," Zack suddenly quipped, nudging Cloud forward meaningfully and the blonde swatted him away with an irritated sigh.

"Sorry about that. My friend is...special. But he's being serious about getting your board back. If you want to get the board now, I'd be more than happy to take you. Did you drive here?"

"Ah, no," Leon admitted. "I'm staying not too far from here so all I had to do was walk down. It'd be great if you could take me."

"It's fine, let's go."

"Hey! Don't forget to invite me to dinner too," Zack whined.

"Zack, don't be stupid. We're just getting Leon's board. Look- there's a kid over there walking around with a bucket on his head. Go help him!"

"Egads! Someone called for help?" Zack put his hands over his mouth in mock surprise before taking off in the direction where Cloud had pointed.

Leon stared after the other man in silence before giving Cloud a sidelong glance.

"Yeah, this happens pretty often."

"Ah."

* * *

The ride to Cloud's apartment went surprisingly well, in Leon's opinion. Which basically entailed that they rode out the entire thing in relative silence. Cloud seemed just fine with this, and for that Leon was infinitely grateful. With Irvine, silence was a god damned blessing.

"Here we are," Cloud announced, pulling up into the parking lot. "It's not a nice pad by the beach like yours, but it's home."

"Oh...about that. The place I'm staying at technically belongs to my friend. I only recently convinced him to split the rent with me a few weeks ago."

Cloud blinked, glancing at Leon as he cut the engine.

"Are you two..?"

Leon frowned briefly in confusion until Cloud's question sunk in. "No! Oh god, no." With Irvine? They were more like brothers than anything else, and the thought of anything more felt strange. Besides, he hadn't thought of looking into potential love interests recently anyway since his job efficiently consumed most of his attention and time.

"Oh...sorry, I only meant..."

"It's fine," Leon said quickly, getting out of the car before  
anything else could be said. So apparently they were pretty good with silence...Until one of them opened their mouth to say something.

Cloud still looked conscious about what he had said, but nodded nonetheless and led Leon up to the apartment he shared with Zack.

"Sorry about the mess." Cloud smiled sheepishly once they were inside. He didn't have an actual desk since his own bedroom was too small, so Cloud often  
had to make do with the coffee table in the living room. As a result, the tabletop in their living room was often strewn with various research papers and books that Cloud was studying and/or working on at the moment.

"Don't worry about it. That was me a couple of years ago." Leon briefly stared down at his shoes for a moment, debating whether or not he should take them off before  
making up his mind and toeing them off for the sake of being polite.

Cloud looked confused. "Huh? So you mean you're done with school?"

"Yeah. I've been working at the local high school for about two years."

"But you look like you're ..what, 22? 21?"

"Do I?" Leon chuckled a little for the first time at how simply bewildered Cloud looked. "I'm 24, so you weren't  
too far off the mark."

"I probably won't finish until I'm 26," Cloud grumbled. After that the blonde apparently shrugged off his educational angst because he went and disappeared inside one of the rooms in the apartment, returning with the board they'd come to retrieve within a few minutes.

Leon breathed a sigh of relief when Cloud held out the board to him and the brunet accepted it with a grateful nod. "If there's anything I can do to repay you..."

"Not at all. It's fine; I'm glad things turned out okay for you."

"At least let me do something. What about dinner tonight?" Leon persisted. Lunch would have obviously been the platonic choice, but nooo...It was a little late to be thinking over his words now. Did he really want to go looking for a relationship right now? And this was all assuming that Cloud was gay in the first place. Then again, maybe the fact that he was too afraid to date anyone was proof of just how much he was letting Seifer get to him.

Cloud blinked, flustered by the attention and apparently not aware of the conflicting thoughts bothering Leon. "If I'm not imposing or anything..."

"Not at all."

"Do I have to drive us there?" Cloud asked, looking amused.

"I have a car," Leon answered defensively.

"That just so happens to be parked in the lot outside?"

"...no."

"Do I have to drive us there?" Cloud asked again, this time with a slight grin.

"Point taken. Shall we?"

Cloud laughed in response and gestured for Leon to follow him.


End file.
